Thrice Defied
by Artless Witch
Summary: A LJ fic that starts the summer before seventh year and will eventually end with the aftermath of their deaths ON HIATUS
1. Another Day, Another Hogwarts Letter

Author's Note: This is my first fic on fanfiction.net, and I hope you like it! Flames will be given to the pyros, I hope they enjoy them. 

Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form, own Harry Potter or any of the affiliated characters. I am not JK Rowling, I am not associated with Warner Bros, I just like to write! 

Chapter 1: Another Day, Another Hogwarts Letter

            Lily Evans twirled to the music, her thick, dark red hair fanning out behind her. She stared up into the hazel eyes of her partner, and smiled at the sight of his unruly black hair. 

            She reached up to try to flatten a piece sticking up at the back. James Potter grinned at this action. He caught hold of her hand and leaned towards her---

            _Brrring__!_

            Lily woke up with a groan. She listened for the phone, and heard her mother chatting animatedly, although she couldn't tell what about. 

            Resigned to the fact that her hopes of sleeping in were dashed, Lily focussed on the dream that had been interrupted. She immediately felt panicked. Why would she be dreaming about James Potter? She hated James Potter!

            _Well…  she thought. She didn't i__hatei him. Sure, he annoyed her, but he had been getting a lot better since the whole Snivellus-in-midair-being-threatened-with-stripping incident. They could even be friends if he didn't keep asking her out constantly, each time with a smug tone to his voice, as though he expected her to accept. _

            With a sigh, Lily decided to leave the matter alone for a while. She threw on a t-shirt and a pair of wide-legged pants, and headed to the kitchen, where she could already hear her family eating breakfast. 

            "Oh Jamesy-_Waaamesy_… Wake up, lazy git!"

            "Huh?" came the response, muffled because the voice's owner was still half-asleep and had his face stuffed into a large, fluffy pillow. 

            James searched for his glasses on his bedside table with one hand. Finding them, he sat up and put them on, looking around his bedroom for the source of the voice. Finally, he spotted his best friend, Sirius Black, hiding unsuccessfully behind a chair. Taking careful aim, he flung his pillow at Sirius. 

            "Ow! What was that for?" Sirius asked, pretending to look hurt. 

            "For calling me Jamesy-Wamesy. How many times have I told you not to call me that? Anyway… What are you doing here?"

            "It's Sunday, you idiot. I came over because your parents said I was welcome for Sunday tea!" Sirius replied. 

            "But why are you here so early?" James questioned. "It's only eleven in the morning!" he added, after a quick glance at his watch. 

            "I was bored all alone at my apartment, so I came here. Do you realize you talk in your sleep?" Sirius responded, changing the subject. "Now _that, that's funny. 'Oh Lily, I'll save you from that giant fire-breathing kangaroo!'" he continued, a wicked gleam in his eye. _

            "I said WHAT?" James yelped. 

            "Don't worry; I was just pulling your leg. It was just the usual 'Oh Lily, I love you' stuff."

            James got out of bed and walked to his bathroom to get ready for the morning, hitting Sirius upside the head as he passed him. 

            Breakfast in the Evans' home followed a routine set for the past six years. Lily would talk to her parents. Petunia would talk to her parents. Lily would attempt to talk to Petunia, while Petunia would sullenly ignore Lily. 

            However, that morning, the routine was broken with a _tap-tap-tap_ on the kitchen window. Looking up and seeing an owl waiting outside, Lily rushed to let it in. The owl gave her a thick envelope marked with the Hogwarts crest and flew away hurriedly after Lily gave it a couple of pieces of bacon. 

            She opened the envelope and pulled out the letter. After scanning the first two lines, she shrieked and began dancing around the kitchen. 

            "Lily! What is it?" her mother asked, sounding a bit concerned. 

            "I'm Head Girl! _I'm Head Girl!_" Lily exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. 

            "Congratulations, honey!" her father told her. 

            The only person who wasn't thrilled by the news was Petunia. "Great, they've gone and made you a leader of that freak place. What _great_ news," she muttered, and left the room. 

            Lily watched her leave, feeling disappointed. She had hoped that her sister might have at least said "Good job," or even not said anything, but it didn't seem like that would be happening any time soon. 

            Reluctantly accepting Petunia's behaviour, she turned her attention back to her Hogwarts letter to see what other information it might contain about the upcoming school year. 

            Both James' and Sirius' letters came while the two were eating lunch. Sirius tore his open immediately, and after scanning it quickly, said, "There's nothing new this year. Same old, same old."

            James didn't attack his letter with same ferocity as Sirius; instead, he opened it leisurely, eating his lunch as he did so. As he looked inside the envelope, his eyes widened. Hurriedly he pulled out the letter, and after reading the first couple of lines, the spoonful of soup he had just put in his mouth was sprayed all over Sirius and the table. 

            Sirius scowled at James as he wiped off his face and clothing. "What was _that for? You would think that you'd been made Head Boy or something!"_

            James stared at him for a few seconds before slowly replying, "I was."

            "WHAT? But we all thought that Moony was a shoo-in! Why would they make _you of all people Head Boy? No offence, Prongs, but I have to admit that I didn't see it coming. Dumbledore must be fully off his rocker," Sirius told him. _

            "I agree. The only thing I thought would even put me in the running was my marks. After that…" James trailed off disbelievingly. 

            "Well, at least it's not Snivellus for Head Boy," Sirius said, and with the wholehearted agreement of James, left the subject for the moment. 

            Lily got under to covers of her bed and started getting comfortable for the night. 

            _I wonder who Head Boy is, she thought. __I hope it's Remus. She smiled at the thought of her fellow Prefect. She had stayed in contact with him since the end of term, writing him a few letters, and she suspected that she had developed less-than-platonic feelings towards the sandy-haired boy. _

            She rolled over onto her side and fell asleep. She couldn't stay up late celebrating her new appointment, for in the morning she was meeting her two best friends in Diagon Alley!

            James flopped onto his bed, feeling both exhausted and excited. When his parents had found out about him getting the position of Head Boy, they had insisted on taking both James and Sirius out to a fancy restaurant. By the time they had finished, it was already quite late. 

            However, James couldn't keep the excitement from welling up in his stomach. The next day, Moony, Padfoot, and Prongs would be together in Diagon Alley. 


	2. Moon Phases and Marvellous Coincidences

Author's Note: Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed! Here's the second chapter, just like you asked for! Also, as it's unlikely that I will be able to finish writing chapter three and have it typed up by now, Merry Christmas/ Happy Holidays, everybody!

Disclaimer: Not mine, not mine, not mine… the characters you recognize belong to JKR, the plot is sort of mine but is also influenced in many ways by the many Lily/James fics I've read (although, if it's too close to your fic, just tell me), and Melissa and Tara sort of belong to me, although really they are based on my friends, and I don't think I _own_ them so much… I'm rambling now, so on with the story! 

Chapter 2: Moon Phases and Marvellous Coincidences

            James woke up early the next morning. After getting dressed and eating a bowl of somewhat tasteless oatmeal, he told his mother he was leaving and Flooed over to Sirius' apartment. 

            Once he got there, he discovered that his best friend, who had sworn he would be awake and ready to leave on time, was still asleep. James stared at him for a few seconds, wondering how to wake him up. Suddenly, he got an idea… 

            "You are a real prat, you know that?" Sirius told James as he came out of his bedroom. He was attempting to dry off his hair: James had chosen the cold water method of waking him up. 

            "Yes, well, I do what I can," James replied, a smug grin on his face. "It's your fault. You should have been awake on time!" 

            "Prat," Sirius muttered, grabbing a quick cup of coffee. 

            "Hurry up," James told him. "You're going to make us late to pick up Moony."

            Remus was already waiting and ready to go by the time James and Sirius showed up. "What took you two so long?" he demanded. "You're half an hour late!"

            "Thank Mr. I-Couldn't-Wake-Up-On-Time-If-My-Life-Depended-On-It over here," James said, gesturing towards Sirius. 

            "Why am I not surprised that it was Sirius who was late? He must have forgotten that he might see _Tara_ today…" Remus said teasingly. He winked at James as Sirius' face turned a brilliant crimson colour. 

            "For the last time, we are _not_ going out! Will you two get that straight already?" Sirius exclaimed.

            "Maybe this year will be the year that Sirius _finally_ gets his act together and asks her out," James said to Remus as though Sirius wasn't there. "After all, he's running out of school years…"

            "Oh, shut up, you prat. Are we picking up ickle Wormtail?" Sirius asked, effectively changing the subject. 

            "No, his uncle's sick, he can't meet us today after all," Remus replied. 

            "Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's get going!" Sirius said, suddenly excited. 

            "You know he's only excited because of Tara," James whispered to Remus. 

            "I heard that, _Jamesie-poo_!"

            As Lily was not fortunate enough to be connected to the Floo Network, she arrived in Diagon Alley through the entrance to the Leaky Cauldrom in the London Underground. 

            After passing through the brick wall behind the pub, Lily had the wind almost knocked out of her due to the fact that somebody had run at her with the force of a hurricane and then proceeded to hug Lily _very_ tightly. 

            "Lily Lily Lily Lily Lily Lily!" the hurricane squealed, jumping up and down. 

            "'Lissa?" Lily asked, thoroughly overwhelmed by the very hyper girl still hugging her. "Okay, _how much sugar have you had this morning?" _

            "I had coffee, some chocolate frogs, some Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, and… root beer!" Melissa Semblune, also called 'Lissa, Moongazer, and Baby Wissa, responded at a very high speed. 

            "Well then, that explains it… How many times have I told you that even a _sip of root beer is too much? Anyway… Is Tara here yet?"_

            "No, she's meeting us at Flourish and Blotts in… er… two minutes!" With that, Melissa took off in the direction of Flourish and Blotts, and Lily followed until---

            WHAM!

            Lily looked up, rubbing her head, only to see James Potter. _Great, she thought, _the prat._ However, she kept her thoughts to herself and asked James if he was okay. _

            "I'm fine," came the self-assured reply. James half-grinned, half-smirked at Lily, then got up and offered her a hand. She graciously declined, and after standing up and brushing the dust off her clothing, noticed the Head boy badge of James' chest. 

            "You made Head Boy? Congratulations," she told him. 

            "Yeah, well…" he answered, embarrassed. "Remus should've gotten the position; I don't know why old Dumbledore chose me."

            An awkward silence followed, which was broken by Lily clearing her throat. "Well, I was just going with Melissa to meet Tara at Flourish and Blotts," she said, "before I, er, ran into you."

            "I'll come," James said. "I was going to meet up with Remus and Sirius there as well."

            "Oh, the other guys are here as well?" Lily said, hiding her annoyance at being stuck walking with James Potter. 

            "Yeah. Getting our stuff for the school year, you know, NEWT-level books, quills, parchment, all that," was the response, just a _tiny bit sarcastic. _

            "Well… okay then."

            They finished walking to Flourish and Blotts in silence. 

            Tarawen Wilson, More commonly known as Tara, glared at Melissa. "How did you manage to _lose_ Lily?" she demanded, one hand placed on her hip. "It's less than fifteen minutes from here to the Leaky Cauldron if you're _walking! I don't know how you do it sometimes, Lissa, but you really accomplish the _strangest_ things."_

            "Oh, calm down Tara, here she comes now- with _James Potter? But she hates him!" Melissa exclaimed in shock. _

            However, as Lily approached, the carefully masked annoyance in Lily's face became apparent. When she saw Tara and Lissa, she rolled her eyes while she gestured with her head towards James. She clearly wanted to be anywhere but where she was. 

            Lily began to make her way through the bustling crowd to where Tara and Lissa stood waiting. Once she made it there, greeting, hugs, and tales of summer were enthusiastically traded. 

            Due to the fact that Lily lived just outside of London, Melissa lived with her Muggle parents in Aberdeen, and Tara came from an all-wizard family that lived in a rural area of Ireland, the three girls hadn't seen each other since the end of sixth year. As a result, trading stories took quite a while. They walked into the store while doing so, and while waiting in line to purchase their various books, they realized they were just ahead of James, Sirius, and Remus. 

            Although Lily and James did not get along well with one another, the two groups generally didn't follow that example. Lily began talking with Remus about NEWT classes, Melissa struck up a conversation about international Quidditch with James, and as for Tara and Sirius… well, they were just plain flirting. 

            The six teenagers ended up spending the majority of the afternoon with one another. However, at about six o'clock, Sirius announced: "I'm hungry. Hey, Tara, want to get something to eat with me?"

            Tara, who was very tall, very thing, and could eat forty Chocolate Frogs and not gain an ounce, immediately replied, "Sure!" She and Sirius left quickly, discussing where in Diagon Alley they could find an all-you-can-eat buffet. Lily, Melissa, Remus, and James just stared after them, feeling sorry for the owners of the restaurant that those two chose. 

            "Well… They have a point, I'm starving!" Remus said. "Shall we get some food?"

            The restaurant that Lily, Melissa, James, and Remus chose was a small one next to "Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions". It was cozy and decorated with pictures of the moon, planets, and stars. 

            "Oh, wow!" Lily had exclaimed upon entering. "It's amazing! I used to love astronomy when I was younger; all those stars… There's just so much outside the confines of our tiny little solar system."

            "Well, I always preferred learning about the moon," Melissa said to the boys, at the same time that Remus stated: "The moon was always what interested me the most." 

            They both stopped and stared at each other. Remus smiled, causing Melissa to blush a little bit, but the moment was interrupted by James. "That's a marvellous coincidence and all," he told them, "but Remus isn't the only one who could eat a hippogriff here. Could you finish this conversation _after we get a table and order?" _

            As everybody wanted to get something to eat, James' suggestion was not met with any protests. However, Melissa and Remus did continue their conversation about the moon. 

            "Did you see the full moon last weekend? It was _so_ gorgeous! All silvery and big…" Melissa asked him. 

            After sharing an amused glance with James, Remus answered Melissa. "I, er, I actually much prefer the, ah, crescent moon."

            "The crescent moon…" she began, and was quickly lost once more in the conversation. Meanwhile, Lily was actually having a civil conversation with James. _Maybe if he's like this all year, I won't kill him out of annoyance, she thought._

            "You know, we should really set those two up," James suggested to Lily. "What do you think?"

            "I think that they won't need our help at the rate they're going," she replied, grinning. 

            "Well… if Sirius and Tara become an item, and so do Melissa and Remus, I reckon we should go out as well," he said, a hint of a smirk playing on his face. 

            Lily rolled her eyes. "Oh, please don't start up on that again! I will make you a deal," she told him, now very serious. "If at any point during this year I decide we should date, I will tell you. Until then, flirt with me all you want, but please don't ask me out anymore! It drives me insane! Anyway… Deal?"

            "Now let me get this straight," he said. "I don't ask you out at all."

            "Right," she confirmed.

            "But I can still flirt with you."

            "As though I could stop you from doing that!"

            "And the instant you decide you want to try dating, you tell me."

            "That would be what I said."

            "Well then, Miss Evans, I believe that you have yourself a deal!"

            It seemed like a good deal at the time: Lily was happy that James wouldn't ask her out all the time, and James was thrilled that Lily wouldn't be angry at him all the time and that he could still be as huge a flirt as always. Remus and Melissa never noticed any of the exchange, as they were in deep conversation, talking about everything and anything. 

            The group finished eating at about seven o'clock and they set off to find Sirius and Tara. After twenty minutes of searching, the couple was found at Quality Quidditch Supplies, holding hands and looking more at each other than at the Quidditch gear. 

            "All right, lovebirds," Remus announced, "it's getting a little late, and Melissa tells me that the three girls are expected at her house in the not-so-distant future, so maybe the two of you should say your goodbyes for now."

            Thus, a very drawn-out session of goodbyes commenced, not just between Tara and Sirius, but amongst all six teenagers. Statements such as "I'll owl you!" and "You know how to use a telephone, right?" could be heard, until Lily put an end to it when she said:

            "You do realize term starts in a week, right?"


End file.
